Very true they are not tangible photos and I do appreciate the current costs of printing.

In the old days though if you were not into developing and printing you sent off the roll of film to be developed and printed, paid your money then discovered how many bad shots you'd taken. Now at least we don't have that expense, being able to view and choose what shots are keepers without any expense and choose whether to print or not.

I'm also willing to bet that a very high percentage of shots taken never see an A4 printer never mind an A3 unless of course involved in a commercial way.

John

Seems to me most photos these days are either looked at once on screen or "shared" on social meeja where one is expected to enthuse about indifferent "awesome" snapshots.
On the flip side it may be good to show pictures of baby Jayson to Sheila in Melbourne without sending them by post.
Jeff

This of course is a quote caught in a time warp like so many that are bandied around about photography today and dare I say, which are totally irrelevant in the world we find ourselves. It concerns me that words like 'masses', ' done to death', 'mediocre' and 'dumbing down' are used in the context of those people for whom photography is nothing more than the creation of a snapshot to record a place or a person. Should we care if these images never see a printer or scale the heights, I suggest we shouldn't.

It really doesn't matter if if the results do not match those taken by enthusiasts, what are the people referred to here doing that upsets others? What harm is being done? We have an easy choice which is to stop looking and perhaps also stop being so judgemental. Photography is a wonderful hobby, people have to start somewhere, many will not want to take masterpieces, so be it. After all, the cameras that they buy help the development of the cameras we own and covet.

There, that feels better.

David

This is all very true, but mediocrity, 'dumbing down' and the behaviour of the masses affect us all in some way, either directly or indirectly, and that is what I dislike.

As an example, there are many places that now ban photography; not because they don't want photographs to be taken, but because of the sheer number of people taking snapshots; usually with flash, whether it is needed or not.

Nothing to stop "considered" photos on digital. And there were lots of dire snapshots taken on Box Brownies as I remember.
But yes I agree most photos would be better if they were more considered but there were degrees of considered. Some MF users used to consider 35mm users to be snappers. I suppose the same applied to 4 x 5 glass negs users and MF users.
Jeff

It seems to me that photographic clubs vary hugely.
From what I hear some of the local clubs are all about competitions, so that no one will share tips/techniques as that might give others an advantage in the competitions. Very sad IMO.

The club I go to regularly calls itself a photographic workshop and is all about learning together. I've found that explaining basics repeatedly helps give a fuller understanding of them, and even complete beginners can ask questions that open up new approaches. At least half our members are experienced photographers so there can be some quite advanced stuff too

The club I belong to has competitions but it also has lots of mutual help and support, and collaborative shooting experiences. A good mix I think, to appeal to a wide variety of photographers.

The club I belong to has competitions but it also has lots of mutual help and support, and collaborative shooting experiences. A good mix I think, to appeal to a wide variety of photographers.

Yes, so's mine.

One hears of clubs that are dominated by cliques of competitive nerds, and unless you already know some of them (or are an established competition winner who'll increase their club's competitiveness) you might as well not bother.

Large clubs can be daunting at first no matter how hard they try to be welcoming, but I'd say you've got the best chance of finding a range of educative and social activities in one that will grow your photography in an enjoyable way.

Competitions are a great way to build skills, but a thick skin is absolutely essential since even the best judge is only human, and all bring their own prejudices (regardless of what organisations say about training and impartiality). Some people don't like their work being analysed in that way, and that's fine: entry isn't obligatory.

It must be said that the skills competitions build best are those involved in doing well in British Club Photography competitions! There's much more to photography than that.

I belong to a small club and while we have a competition once a month in house and a few inter club ones during the year the main emphasis is on learning.
We have 2 nights each month that are dedicated to tutorials of varying sorts. We also try to have some outings as well.
The experienced members are always willing to give help and advice to less experienced members.